1. Field of Invention
This invention relates in general to the field of guy-wire safety devices and in particular to support structures that deter climbing by enabling guy-wire guards to spin when contacted.
2. Description of Related Art
Guy wires are a type of bracing cable used to stabilize structures such as utility poles, antennae, transmission towers, and the like. Unfortunately, the use of these wires presents a number of problems. One problem is that a typical guy wire has a relatively small diameter, and, thus, it is not readily visible. As a result, accidental collisions occur involving pedestrians or vehicles. To resolve this problem, engineers often partially encase guy wires in protective sheathes termed xe2x80x9cguardsxe2x80x9d made from highly-visible plastic or similar material.
Accordingly, there exist many different guards designed to increase guy wire visibility. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,926,141 by Taylor describes a wire guard comprising a plurality of substantially identical, interlocking modular units. Each brightly-colored modular unit is formed of a pair of interlocking half-shell sections that are snapped together about a guy wire.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,705 by Shapiro et al. describes a hollow tubular casing that is constructed to diffuse light and has a longitudinal slit through which it may be pressed upon a wire.
While these inventions have increased guy wire visibility, other problems relating to damage caused by the impact of objects such as tree branches or by intentional tampering have fueled the desire to make guards more durable. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,173,519 by Sullivan describes a guard mounted axially through a longitudinal slit upon a plurality of supporting structures attached to the guy wire. The presence of these supporting structures provides two advantages. First, they provide a means of attaching the guard to the wire at multiple points so as to frustrate guard removal. Second, they provide an internal support structure that aids in the deflection of blows to the guard.
Despite these improvements in guard visibility and durability, there is still a need for safety design improvements that specifically address the problem of guy wire climbing. This need is made urgent by the fact that the location and design of many existing guards inadvertently attract and assist climbers. For example, wire guards typically are placed close to the ground so as to be most visible to pedestrians or vehicles. Hence, guards made up of snugly-attached, modular subunits, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,001,893 by Seelye and U.S. Pat. No. 3,926,141 by Taylor, can be used by a child as handholds from which to hang or scale an attached wire. Another reason why safety design improvements are needed relates to the common use of tubular guards that are placed vertically on parallel guy wires attached to power poles, as illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, with guards, such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,453,353 by Killop et al. and 5,517,792 by Champa et al., that have been affixed to guy wires in relatively closely-spaced, vertical pairs, the bottom guard serves as a foothold while the climber grips the upper guard to keep her balance and thereby xe2x80x9cwalkxe2x80x9d up the guy wire.
Because their design and location make guards especially accessible to children, guy-wire play has become a serious liability and expense concern. For not only does scaling or otherwise playing on wires imperil the climber, it also necessitates the repair of power pole components and the replacement of guards due to damage incurred as a result of hanging from or standing atop them. Thus, a dangerous and expensive problem exists due to a propensity to use guards as aids in climbing on guy wires.
Some guy-wire guard improvements have been aimed at reducing damage caused by vandalism. However, a survey of such guard designs reveals that the problem of climbing has yet to be effectively addressed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,620 by Mastalski discloses a protective sleeve specifically designed to resist damage caused by twisting. When a twisting force is applied, the guard responds by slipping along an axial groove present in a guard mounting collar and within which guard-integrated rivets are seated. However, the guard also includes a helical strap twisted around the wire to tightly grip it to prevent axial displacement. Thus, climbing or standing on the guard would not produce the free spinning motion needed to prevent or dislodge a handhold or foothold because the frictional resistance caused by the strap and the rivets engaging the groove would serve to inhibit rotation. Consequently, there continues to be a need for guy-wire guards that effectively frustrate attempts to play on and climb up them.
It is an object of the invention to prevent injury by providing a means for guy-wire guards to safely inhibit climbing, hanging from, or standing upon them.
A further object of the invention is to provide a means of discouraging climbing-, hanging-, or standing-induced damage to guy-wire guards.
Another object of the invention is to provide a means of inexpensively improving guy wire safety and longevity.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a means of retrofitting a conventional guy wire guard so that it prevents climbing or other deliberate interference with the wire.
In accordance with these objectives, the invention consists of collar- and cup-like components that contain free-wheeling elements, such as ball and similar bearings, so as to provide both structural support and a mechanism upon which a guard is free to spin about its longitudinal axis in response to contact such as grasping or standing.
In achieving these objectives, one or more collar-like components of the present invention are attached to a guy wire in a circumferential support position so as to provide an approximately cylindrical surface fixed to the guy wire upon which the inner portion of a guard may easily rotate. Additionally, a cup-like body is placed on the wire to support the bottom-end portion of the guard, thereby preventing downward translation of the guard along the wire and providing a surface upon which the end portion of the guard may spin.
In another embodiment of the invention, collar-like components attached to the guy wire are combined with a modified guard having inner grooves adapted to receive the bearing portion thereof, such as to eliminate the need for a supporting cup-like component.
The main advantage of the present invention is that it minimizes the chances of personal injury and damage to guards caused especially by deliberate contact, such as horseplay. Because many existing guy wires and guy-wire guards are designed and placed in such a way as to unintentionally provide both access to and a means by which one may climb pairs of guy wires, the ability to rapidly rotate in response to contact improves guard safety. A second major advantage of the invention is that the collar- and cup-like bodies can be inexpensively manufactured in a variety of standard sizes so as to fit new and existing guards alike.